On Hannity & Colmes, Lowry and Simmons teamed up to smear Murtha

On Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, guest co-host Rich Lowry asserted that Rep. John P. Murtha was "again sounding like the grim reaper when it comes to the war on terror." Lowry also asked whether Murtha has "already decided to undermine another American war effort." Former CIA operative Wayne Simmons attacked Murtha for "running a psy-op [psychological operation] against his own people and against his own military," adding that Murtha "has come out and talked poorly about the military."

On the July 21 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, former CIA operative and frequent Fox News guest Wayne Simmons joined guest co-host Rich Lowry in smearing Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA). Lowry, who is also the editor of National Review, asserted that Murtha was "again sounding like the grim reaper when it comes to the war on terror," addressing Murtha's claim that the war in Iraq is "depleting our resources" for handling other problems around the world. Lowry also asked whether Murtha has "already decided to undermine another American war effort." Simmons attacked Murtha for "running a psy-op [psychological operation] against his own people and against his own military," adding that Murtha "has come out and talked poorly about the military."

From the July 21 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

MURTHA [video clip]: [Who] wants us in Iraq? North Korea, Iran, China, Russia, and Al Qaeda. Because they believe, as a nation, we are distracted. As a world superpower, we're depleting our resources.

LOWRY: That was Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha, once again sounding like the grim reaper when it comes to the war on terror. But now America is faced with a possibility of another conflict as the wheels of war seem to spin out of control in the Middle East. Has Murtha already decided to undermine another American war effort?

Joining us now is former CIA operative Wayne Simmons and Democratic strategist Rich Masters. Thanks both of you for joining us.

[...]

MASTERS: Well, listen, there is definitely no reason -- no way to talk -- reason with Hezbollah, but there's no question that Al Qaeda, in their wildest dreams, could never have imagined the miscalculations that this administration has made. There is no question that --

LOWRY: OK. Rich, wait. Rich, I'll give you --

MASTERS: No, no, now, Rich -- I mean --

LOWRY: Go ahead.

MASTERS: Honestly. I mean, let's -- quickly, we'll talk about it. I mean, the war in Iraq and the way it was poorly handled might as well have been a recruiting poster for Al Qaeda in the Middle East.

LOWRY: Rich, look, you can criticize --

MASTERS: It definitely didn't help things, Rich.

LOWRY: Rich -- Rich, let's -- let's pursue this point. You can certainly criticize the way this war has been handled. That's fine. I understand that.

But what Murtha is proposing is pulling out almost immediately. How would leaving Iraq to chaos and the terrorists serve U.S. interests? Isn't that what al Qaeda wants?

MASTERS: You're absolutely wrong. First of all, if you read what Congressman Murtha said, he said specifically, "There's two choices here right now. You have the George Bush policy, which is, 'Stay the course. Let's stay in indefinitely and not do anything.' "

Or the Murtha -- and actually, Senate Democrats -- we heard the same argument, Rich, a few weeks ago in the Senate, when they said, "Well, the Senate Democrats want to cut and run."

[crosstalk]

COLMES: Let me get Wayne in here, Rich.

Wayne, how dare a decorated veteran like John Murtha, who knows war --

SIMMONS: Oh, please, Alan.

COLMES:-- how dare he speak up and criticize the policy of our commander in chief, huh? How dare he do that, Wayne?

SIMMONS: There you go again, Alan. I mean, you know, this is such a perfect example, oh, by the way, that this is a Democrat --

COLMES: You should do that in America. Speak out against a policy.

SIMMONS: Alan -- Alan, let me tell you what's going on here. A psy-ops, or a psychological operation, in and by itself, can decimate the enemy if it's run correctly. The problem is Murtha's running a psy-op against his own people and against his own military.

[crosstalk]

COLMES: Oh, come on, Wayne. Unless we march in lockstep with the administration you say we're undermining, we're not patriots, we're traitors. Don't be ridiculous.

SIMMONS: Alan, you know that he -- that he has come out and talked poorly about the military.

ABOUT OUR RESEARCH

Our research section features in-depth media analysis, original reports illustrating skewed or inadequate coverage of important issues, thorough debunking of conservative falsehoods that find their way into coverage and other special projects from Media Matters' research department.

On December 7, President-elect Donald Trump named Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Media should take note of Pruitt’s climate science denial, his deep ties to the energy industries he will be charged with regulating, and his long record of opposition to EPA efforts to reduce air and water pollution and combat climate change.

President-elect Donald Trump has picked -- or considered -- nearly a dozen people who have worked in right-wing media, including talk radio, right-wing news sites, Fox News, and conservative newspapers, to fill his administration. And Trump himself made weekly guest appearances on Fox for a number of years while his vice president used to host a conservative talk radio show.